A Healthy Dose of Laughter

I read that a child laughs 400 times a day on the average,
while an adult laughs only 15 times each day. Which is puzzling since
laughter feels so good and is so good for us!
You may know the benefits of laughter on the mind and spirit,
but are you aware of how much a good laugh can help you physically?
Norman Cousins used to say that laughter is so beneficial physically
that it is like “inner jogging.”
Mayo Clinic (Mayo Clinic Health Letter, March 1993) reports
that laughter aids breathing by disrupting your normal respiration
pattern and increasing your breathing rate. It can even help clear
mucus from your lungs.
Laughter is good for your heart. It increases circulation and
improves the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tissues throughout
your body.
A good laugh helps your immune system fight off colds, flu and
sinus problems by increasing the concentration of immunoglobulin A in
your saliva. And it may help control pain by raising the levels of
certain brain chemicals (endorphins).
It is also a natural stress reliever. Have you ever laughed so
hard that you doubled over, fell off your chair, spit out your food or
wet your pants? You cannot maintain muscle tension when you are
laughing!
The good news is that you are allowed more than 15 laughs a
day! Go ahead and double the dose and make it 30 times today. (You may
begin to notice your relationships improving!) Then double it again!
You are bound to feel better, you will cope with problems more
effectively and people will enjoy being around you.
Laughter: it’s good medicine, it’s completely organic, it can
be shared, it is recyclable and absolutely free!
——————–

Steve Goodier, publisher of Your Life Support System
To be ADDED to Your Life Support System (it’s Free!), send a BLANK
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About This Blog

The Inner Peace blog is a place to share wisdom about peace practices and inspire, learn and explore all aspects of inner peace. A team of writers will discuss varied qualities – intuition, courage, fearlessness, friendship, forgiveness, gentleness, giving and receiving, tolerance, faithfulness and kindness – that help us all through the tough times, the challenges, the joys and the sorrows with inner peace as the ever-shining goal.
Whether 2 or 92, your inner peace is up to you.